Current Projects
Sabawoon Showcase: Women’s Empowerment and Role in Society
January 11, 2016, Peshawar: The latest episode of Sabawoon[i], a flagship radio program of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), focused on women’s empowerment and role in society. The key discussion points included women’s rights, their contribution to Pakistan’s economic development, social and cultural barriers faced by women, role of women in police and their trainings, and the importance of family support in the grooming of a female as a social asset. The program was aired under the theme of Jwandai Jazbey (living spirits) on Wednesday. Ms. Asmat Arra, Sub Divisional Police Officer Traffic, Peshawar, was the show guest. A radio report was made part of the program. It shared the experiences of a female driver, Ms. Huma Bibi, and owner of a female driving training school, Ms. Nilofer Sami, as a case study. Four callers participated live in the show. They underlined the significance of female education and urged the government to take more proactive measures for facilitating women’s education in rural areas. Ms. Arra said: “If women want to contribute to the development of the country, they should set objectives in life, be more confident and overcome the societal barriers.” Sabawoon airs Monday through Thursday on FM-101.5 Peshawar & DI Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. [i] Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Marrakka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important stories across the length and breadth of KP/FATA. On Wednesday, Jwandai Jazbey covers issues most important to youth, students and females. Finally, on Thursday, Ranra covers social issues that...
Cure or curse: Our perpetual dependence on the IMF
The latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme for Pakistan concluded in September 2016. It was deemed a success: the country’s economy is doing reasonably well after three years under it. The state of the economy, however, may not have much to do with the programme. There is, in fact, a strong expectation that Pakistan may again seek help from the IMF if its finances become insufficient to meet its external trade and debt repayment needs. Our relationship with the Fund (that is, dependency) can be better understood by looking at our past. The IMF is generally approached for help when a country faces a balance of payments problem. Although this remains the main reason for Pakistan requesting money from the Fund, the IMF programmes in Pakistan (and in other countries) since the 1990s have focused more on introducing comprehensive changes in the structure of the economy than just providing support for hard currency needs. There is, in fact, a strong expectation that Pakistan may again seek help from the IMF if its finances become insufficient. Since December 1988, Pakistan has had nine separate engagements with the IMF — three of them were double programmes. That means there have been 12 IMF programmes in Pakistan in the last 28 years. Only four of them – all initiated in the 2000s and 2010s – were completed successfully; all the rest were abandoned halfway in the 1990s. The turning point came in 2000 when Pakistan was facing the possibility of defaulting on its foreign debts by the end of the year. One should recall that Pakistan had fallen out of favour with the West in May 1998 (when it conducted nuclear tests) and subsequently in 1999 (due to Pervez Musharraf’s military coup). Seeking help from the IMF was the only option available to Islamabad in those circumstances. This constraint put the government in a situation where it had to accept and abide by the terms and conditions attached to the loan agreement with the IMF (signed in November 2000 and...
World powers jostle in Afghanistan's new 'Great Game'
Afghanistan's strategic landscape is changing as regional powers forge links with the Taliban and vie to outdo each other in what's being seen as a new "Great Game". Fifteen years after the US-led intervention in Afghanistan, competition for influence - reminiscent of that rivalry between the Russian and British empires in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and that during the Cold War in the 1980s - is intensifying, complicating an already precarious security situation. Suspicion and mistrust remain the biggest obstacle to stability in strategically-located Afghanistan, which has the potential to destabilise the wider region. Pakistan, considered the main supporter of the Afghan Taliban, has been accused of playing a double game. But Afghan and Western officials as well as Taliban sources have also spoken about the Taliban's clandestine links with Iran for the past few years. And recently it emerged that Russia's ties with the Taliban were warming too. In December the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Nicholson, criticised Russia and Iran for establishing links with the militants, which both countries have confirmed. The US has also pursued contacts with the Taliban in recent years but those efforts have not brought peace. Several regional powers, most notably Russia and Iran, criticise the US and its allies for "failing" in achieving its original objectives of eliminating violent extremism and drugs in Afghanistan. Three major factors have contributed to the shifting of regional alliances: the emergence of so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan; changes in the approach of the new Afghan government; and tensions between the US and regional players such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan. Fears over Islamic State The emergence of IS in Afghanistan - the group announced the creation of its Khorasan Province branch in January 2015 - provided Russia and Iran with the opportunity to make "contacts" with the Taliban. The US's decreasing military role in...
World powers jostle in Afghanistan’s new ‘Great Game’
Afghanistan's strategic landscape is changing as regional powers forge links with the Taliban and vie to outdo each other in what's being seen as a new "Great Game". Fifteen years after the US-led intervention in Afghanistan, competition for influence - reminiscent of that rivalry between the Russian and British empires in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, and that during the Cold War in the 1980s - is intensifying, complicating an already precarious security situation. Suspicion and mistrust remain the biggest obstacle to stability in strategically-located Afghanistan, which has the potential to destabilise the wider region. Pakistan, considered the main supporter of the Afghan Taliban, has been accused of playing a double game. But Afghan and Western officials as well as Taliban sources have also spoken about the Taliban's clandestine links with Iran for the past few years. And recently it emerged that Russia's ties with the Taliban were warming too. In December the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Nicholson, criticised Russia and Iran for establishing links with the militants, which both countries have confirmed. The US has also pursued contacts with the Taliban in recent years but those efforts have not brought peace. Several regional powers, most notably Russia and Iran, criticise the US and its allies for "failing" in achieving its original objectives of eliminating violent extremism and drugs in Afghanistan. Three major factors have contributed to the shifting of regional alliances: the emergence of so-called Islamic State in Afghanistan; changes in the approach of the new Afghan government; and tensions between the US and regional players such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan. Fears over Islamic State The emergence of IS in Afghanistan - the group announced the creation of its Khorasan Province branch in January 2015 - provided Russia and Iran with the opportunity to make "contacts" with the Taliban. The US's decreasing military role in...
Risks to Afghanistan
On January 11, 2017, Special Inspector General John F. Sopko unveiled SIGAR’s updated High-Risk List in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). As a new Administration and a new Congress prepare to inherit America’s longest war and largest reconstruction effort, the High-Risk List calls attention to some of the greatest challenges facing Afghanistan today. Speech highlights: -- The best spin the Afghan security forces can put on their activities is that they are able to re-take strategic areas after they temporarily fall. We may be defining success as the absence of failure. -- Afghan commanders often pocket the paychecks of “ghost soldiers” for whom the U.S. is paying salaries. The number of ghost soldiers is significant, likely reaching into the tens of thousands. -- There is evidence that the Taliban have instructed their field commanders to simply purchase U.S. supplied weapons, fuel, and ammunition from Afghan soldiers because to do so is both easier and less expensive. -- A significant portion – perhaps as much as half – of U.S. purchased fuel is siphoned off at various stages of this compromised system, wasting U.S. taxpayer dollars and handicapping Afghan security forces. -- Resolute Support estimates that as much as 60 percent of the Taliban’s funding comes from poppy production and cultivation, which has grown significantly despite the United States’ $8.5 billion investment in counternarcotics efforts. -- Given recent depreciation of the Afghan currency, the negative effect on the Afghan economy of the American military withdrawal, and a demographic youth bulge that drove many Afghans to try to reach Europe as refugees, future prospects look bleak. -- I first witnessed the United States put in way too much, way too fast. More recently, I’ve watched the U.S. remove way too much, way too fast. -- Withdraw, and the democratic government may well fall. Stay, and continue what we have been doing and we may be faced with what...
Exchange of Parliamentarians between Afghanistan and Pakistan Critical to Improve Ties, Agha Siraj Durrani
The exchange of parliamentarians would be an excellent initiative to improve the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The speaker of Sindh Assembly, Agha Siraj Durrani said during meeting with the members of Pakistan Afghan Joint Committee (PAJC) at Provincial Assembly, Sindh. “I would love to visit the Afghan parliament along with the other Pakistani MPs. I would also like to extend all possible cooperation for the betterment of ties between the two countries”, said the speaker while noting that both countries have a rich past history of cultural and people to people contacts. Later that day, the members of PAJC met with the Provincial Secretary for Culture, Ghulam Akbar Laghari, Provincial Secretary for Sports, Mr. Saleem Raza and Special Secretary to Chief Minister Sindh, Mr. A. Rahim Shaikh. The secretary sports said that if there were no advancements on the political front, the people to people relations should continue. He was willing to take all possible steps to increase the cooperation on sports and youth affairs and was also open to the idea of Pakistani sports delegation visiting Kabul for sports exchange on reciprocal agreement. He said that the ministry could provide all the facilities available in Karachi for such visits. He further assured to provide boarding and lodging facility to the visiting afghan youth delegations. “We are open to the idea of organizing cultural events in Afghanistan through an MOU with relevant afghan department. The delegations from Afghanistan can also be hosted for similar events in Pakistan”, the secretary culture noted who was present in the same meeting, while adding that there should also be writers exchange who can travel simultaneously with the cultural troupes to share and disseminate their experiences through travel logs. The special secretary to chief minister Sindh vowed to take up the matter with the chief minister for further necessary actions including expression of interest based on the...
Sabawoon Showcase: Regional Review of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)
January 10, 2017, Peshawar: The latest episode of Sabawoon[i], flagship radio program of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) was presented under the theme of Da Semi Jaaj (regional review) on Tuesday. This program reviews significant news from the region and provides crisp analysis. Following reports were included in the program: Tourists visiting Swat to enjoy the snow fall Lack of proper sports grounds in district Bannu and government’ apathy towards the issue Inauguration of two small dams in Mohmand Agency by Mr. Sikandar Hayat Khan Shirpao, a senior minister of KP Issues faced by the residents of district Tank due to scarcity of potable water Problem of one-wheeling in district Kohat and the inability of traffic police to tackle it Sabawoon airs Monday through Thursday on FM-101.5 Peshawar & DI Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM. [i] Sabawoon is a flagship radio program by CRSS in the KP/FATA region, designed to highlight local issues, and promote fundamental global values such as women’s rights, rule of law, equal citizenry, democracy, governance and accountability. It airs four times a week, under four themes. On Monday, Jarga Marrakka covers current affairs and issues, coupled with government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Semi Jaaj gives a holistic regional overview of the most important stories across the length and breadth of KP/FATA. On Wednesday, Jwandai Jazbey covers issues most important to youth, students and females. Finally, on Thursday, Ranra covers social issues that have a cultural angle and/or impact.
Time to Stop Meddling In Afghanistan
External powers need to involve Afghanistan in discussions, rather than interfering in the country’s affairs from afar. On December 27, 1979 Russian forces invaded Afghanistan through a direct military intervention, commencing a disastrous epoch of Afghan history. Exactly 37 years later, Russia was once again meddling in Afghan affairs by hosting a trilateral meeting involving China and Pakistan in Moscow on December 27, 2016. The aim was to discuss Afghan security issues, but Kabul was neither invited nor consulted. Since the first intervention to this day, Afghanistan has been a physical battlefield for a number of enemies: the United States versus Russia, India versus Pakistan, and Iran versus Saudi Arabia. China, the latest addition to the list, is also pursuing its regional economic and political interests. Turkey, too, has joined in, supporting Uzbek ethnic groups based in Northern Afghanistan in a bid to expand its influence. No doubt there have been ups and downs in terms of benefits for the interfering nations; but the only consistent loser has been Afghanistan itself. The country has suffered the collapse of its social, economic, and physical infrastructure, lost over two million human beings, and has inherited over 800,000 disabled people while millions more Afghans are living as refugees. The post 9/11 intervention of international community under the auspices of United Nations (UN) brought hope that Afghanistan could return to normalcy, reconstruction, and economic development. Afghans started thinking about taking a sigh of relief after more than two decades of destruction. However, once again, regional neighbors started intruding into Afghan affairs through their proxies. The interfering countries have used different pretexts to pursue their agendas in the country. The Soviet Union intervened in 1979 in a bid to further its regional presence under the guise of supporting the Afghan Communist government against insurgency. At the same time, Pakistan...
Surge of Migration Makes Hunger Crisis Worse in Afghanistan
More than 9 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2017. The number of people facing hunger is of particular concern, the U.N. has warned. Some 1.8 million people are acutely malnourished – 1.3 million are children under 5 years old. “Afghanistan’s nutrition situation continues to be negatively impacted by the conflict and decades of underdevelopment, despite enhanced efforts by government and partners,” according to the Afghan Humanitarian Needs Overview by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “Children under the age of five and pregnant and lactating women continue to bear the brunt of Afghanistan’s nutrition crisis.” A combination of continued fighting, increased displacement and the return of some 600,000 refugees from neighboring Pakistan fuel the ongoing crisis. The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance rose by 13 percent due in large part to ‘unprecedented’ levels of displacement, according to the report. Displacement accelerated at the end of the year reaching a record high of 500,000 people in November. The rapid pace of people leaving their homes and refugees returning to the country continues into this year. Afghanistan’s government is struggling to keep up with the needs following the draw-down of U.S. troops in 2015 and the ensuing collapse of the economy in mid-2016. At least 100,000 transport jobs were lost, found the U.S. Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The sector alone is responsible for about 22 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Combined with job losses in the important construction industry, the economy suffered a major blow. It means that Afghanistan must rely heavily on the international community to support people in need. “Economic development in Afghanistan requires more than aid, technical advice, training programs, subsidies, and trade fairs,” according to the report. “It requires more than plunking down new projects...
The Battle Between Law And Force: Scattered Political Power and Deteriorating Security Test Herat’s Dynamism
Herat – the affluent and vibrant city in western Afghanistan – is going through a ‘scattering’ of political power and a deterioration in security. While Ismail Khan, the self-styled ‘amir of the west’, is still the preeminent figure, political power is no longer concentrated only in his hands, and the new actors are behaving differently from the old-timers. One consequence of this is that security has worsened, with several districts seeing heavy clashes between Afghan government forces and the armed opposition – mostly the Taleban – and between rival Taleban factions. In Herat city, insecurity has taken on a largely criminal face as manifested in assassinations, kidnappings and thefts. Reviewing the recent situation, AAN guest author Said Reza Kazemi* argues that the diffusion of political power and deteriorating security pose a crucial test to the vibrancy of Herat and this, in turn, is reflected in the day-to-day life of its people and their striving for the future. Struggling to keep centre stage: the ‘amir’ of the west’ One still cannot write about Herat without mentioning its self-proclaimed amir, Ismail Khan. He has risen from a captain in the government army (from which he defected in 1979 to join an anti-communist uprising) to mujahedin commander to governor of Herat and self-declared ‘amir’ of what historically was called the southwestern region (1992 to 1994 and again, 2002 to 2004) to the Minister of Energy and Water to a vice-presidential candidate in the hugely disputed 2014 presidential elections. A prominent member of the influential Jamiat-e Islami party and of the political opposition group Shura-ye Herasat wa Sobat-e Afghanistan (Council for Protection and Stability of Afghanistan or CPSA0, Ismail Khan currently has no government position. He does not appear on the media much, either. However, there are two specific days in the year when he can always be seen talking to the people around him and to the media: 24 Hut (15 March), the anniversary...
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TESTIMONIALS
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I am also a member of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting. Recently, we held a meeting with the Director General of Radio Pakistan and we told them to initiate such local programs (like Constituency Hour) in regional languages to educate and inform people. Even Indian Radio can be heard in FATA which is being used for propaganda purposes and must be closed. Therefore, we should launch some standard and quality programs like CRSS that will change the taste of the listeners.